Random Thoughts

From shabu to cocaine?

By Leonardo Micua

REMEMBER the time when several containers of shabu were washed ashore in Barangay Cato, Infanta and when lawmen investigated this, they found more containers loaded with high -grade shabu floating offshore?

This happened during the incumbency of President Joseph Estrada and his chief PNP was Panfilo Lacson. I think the PNP provincial director that time was Senior Supt. Joel Goltiao.

There were reports that the containers believed to have come from China were originally consigned to Bolinao to be retrieved by hired fishermen but the unidentified foreign vessel that dropped the hot cargo miscalculated its target, and offloaded instead in the waters of Infanta, the last town of Pangasinan to the south.

We lost sight of the story after
these were all brought to Manila under tight guard by the police.

The same scenario appears to be happening again but in different locations,
east of the Philippines. But this time, the containers that had bricks of
cocaine in large volumes estimated to have nearly one billion pesos in street
value. So far, bricks of cocaine were fished out or washed ashore in 12
different locations.

This is quite alarming especially after no less than President Duterte confirmed that the tentacles of Columbia’s Medellin drug cartel may already be operating here. This is certainly a big blow to the still unfinished war on drugs of Mr. Duterte.

Surely, this flood of Columbian cocaine–if true– would create more havoc to the country. It will create more narco-politicians, drug pushers and dealers and drug dependents in our communities. If this cannot be stopped, it will be a matter of time before we become a narco-state.

Why are foreign drug cartels making
the Philippines as their favorite dumping ground for their hot stuff? Foremost
reason is the fact that our navy and coast guard are unable to patrol effectively
our long coastline from north to south and east to west.

There is also PDEA’s suspicion that the off-loaded cocaine shipment in Philippine waters may have been consigned to other countries like Australia and Hong Kong because the cartel is aware that our drug users don’t use cocaine but crystal meth or shabu, the poor man’s cocaine.

The PDEA is also looking into the possibility that the discovered bricks of cocaine were actually a decoy for the bigger shipment that may have already slipped into any shore in the country.

Be that as it may, Philippines could
very well become a transshipment point for cocaine and other illegal drugs
in Asia.

* * * *

The accident that happened along the De Venecia
Expressway late afternoon on Sunday was a top conversation topic in many radio
stations last week. Why?

It is because, the Toyota High-Ace van which collided head on with a motorized
tricycle where four of the six persons involved died and two seriously injured
and still in coma, is reportedly owned by Magic. The police, however, reported
the van was registered in the name of Universal Aquarius Inc. We don’t know if
there is any connection between Universal Aquarius, Inc. and Magic but some
think so.

The commentators of one radio station insinuated that a VIP and his friend were
in that van when the accident happened but hastily boarded a backup vehicle to
obviously escape identification. The commentator of another radio station
dismissed the claim that the VIP and his friend were on board and instead
simply blamed the authorities for allowing motorcycles to traverse along the
highway.

The social media was also abuzz with reports and suspicions from netizens that
two persons hastily escaped after the accident, leaving only their driver to
account for the accident.

But whatever is the truth, the victims need justice and their family needs urgent help.